That’s an interesting observation about avoiding the over-the-middle passes
I hope this game didn’t save Hemphill’s job
That’s an interesting observation about avoiding the over-the-middle passes
I hope this game didn’t save Hemphill’s job
Wolford absolutely feasted over the middle. Last year, Roberson made a name for himself on the 7-8 yard slant over the middle. I love the slow mesh SOMETIMES. Sometimes it needs to vary in pace just like the overall tempo of the offense.
Yep. Moving away from strengths because sometimes DL get their hands up seems like overkill. Sometimes defenders just make great plays.
And once you stop throwing over the middle, you completely defeat the purpose of the mesh. If the LBs don't have to worry about proper depth in the pass game vs coming up to stop the run, then they sell out on blitzing or filling gaps. You end up with corners playing off the ball and deep safeties hanging out playing center field.Originally Posted by PhDeac
i don't think we "avoided" attacking the middle as much as pitt's defense was geared to take that away. especially once they shut down our run game, they had their linebackers playing zone across the middle most plays. the positive matchups for us were the 1:1s on the outside and we just didn't execute well. but the crux of the issue was the inability to run the ball, which allowed pitt to take away the middle of the field.
the mesh worked, even when the run game was weak
Hartman just missed on a bunch of passes to open guys in one-on-one situations the scheme created
He did miss some throws but it also seemed several times like receivers were running routes Hartman wasn’t expecting them to run.
I counted two, maybe three deep passes that would easily been touchdowns if they weren't underthrown. I agree that the mesh worked. The deep pass was the correct read due to the 1v1 coverage, Deacs just didn't execute it.
Light upgrades. Perhaps 5 or 6 new starters?
Yup. There have been many times this year we have all see those passes by Hartman where they were underthrown or the receiver didn't look like he was on the same page. Still not happy about the play calling.
While I'm sure Pitt would've still scored more than 17 points without those things happening, after the first quarter, the defense did play well. The defense has been good at times this year, but when it's bad it's been really bad. We need much better consistency.
boorish ruffian
We haven’t been throwing over the middle. I assume it’s because Hartman broke the world record for batted passes at the line but maybe we just decided for some other reason to rarely if ever throw over the middle the last few games. But I’m betting it’s because of all the batted passes. I know during the Boston College game the announcer said Hartman was at like 55 batted passes at the line so far this season which by far and away was the most in the country. That’s not “sometimes defenders just make great plays”. 55 batted passes is ridiculous and it’s a problem. That mesh is too close to the line to throw over it and Hartman isn’t tall enough to compensate. Plus, he can’t see over the line and that’s also very dangerous. The result is passes across the field at tougher angles and interceptions.
I also wonder how healthy Roberson is. He has been pretty quiet (by his standards) the second half of the season.
Does the first Wake defender EVER make the tackle? I was paying attention to that Saturday night and the first would-be tackler almost never took the guy down. No matter where it was on the field. I think tackling ia a big issue and that seems like coaching. We don't square up - at least from what I saw at my angle Saturday - and it just looked like poor fundamentals overall. Now, it may just be that we don't have the athletes yet on defense to get in position to make the tackle right. I think that's the more likely cause.
Watching the replay on ACCN. First quarter. So weird to see how much in a groove we we were in and to realize we are never going to score again.
The last picture I took Saturday night was a selfie of the scoreboard at the start of the second quarter. Up 21-14, and we didn’t score again. Ugh.
The game looked like it was going to become epic at that point...
(Not a parody)
As the first quarter ended, my group was talking about how we were pressuring Pitt into a track meet, which is something they hadn’t been in all season. Universal agreement that was a good thing for the Deacs. Then, nothing.
Watching the game again too (not sure why). Looked like on the (3rd Int. I think). He throws the ball and the receiver is not even looking until the end and it's underthrown. Had Hartman got the ball to him, it would have been a touchdown.
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